Out Of Season: The Vanishing Architecture Of The Wildwoods

In brilliant photographs, the exuberant midcentury motels of Wildwood, New Jersey USA come to life, complete with neon signs and plastic palms.

Thanks to a combination of economics geography and chance, Wildwood has, for more than four decades, been home to the largest concentration of midcentury motels in the exuberant ar- chitectural style sometimes known as 'doo wop'. Now, more than half have been demolished and the future of the rest is uncertain. Determined to preserve them, photographer Mark Havens has captured their unique style over 10 years, sometimes shooting motel’s facades while workers were demolishing their backs. With essays by Joseph Giovannini and Jamer Hunt and evocative photographs it celebrates the architecture of a bygone era of Jersey Shore summers in the USA.